The Price of the Climb: When Success Cuts Deep
“Success doesn’t come wrapped in ease—it comes wrapped in scars, strategy, and sacred resilience. For women of colour, every step up is a revolution.” — SistaTalk Collective
In 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery bus—not because she wasn’t tired, but because she was tired of giving in. What followed was a national movement—but also, behind the scenes, relentless hardship. She lost her job. She was stalked. She never profited from her protest. This is the part of success we don’t glamorise, the bruises no one applauds, the cuts no one sees.
Entrepreneurship is often sold as freedom. But for women—especially women of colour—that freedom often comes at a cost. We scale ladders made of blades: funding gaps, systemic bias, work-life strain and emotional exhaustion. A report from Project Diane found that as of 2021, Black women-led start-ups received less than 0.34% of total venture capital. That’s not a glass ceiling—it’s reinforced steel. And yet, we climb. Bleeding, determined, unstoppable.
The image above is more than metaphor. It’s a mirror. Every rung climbed in our start-up journey may feel like grasping a knife—because success in this world was not designed for us. But neuroscience offers hope. Women, particularly under chronic pressure, display higher activity in the prefrontal cortex—linked to resilience and long-term planning. This is why we survive, adapt and rebuild… even when every step hurts.
The Hard Truths
“No success without pain.” Entrepreneurship is not for the faint-hearted. If it were easy, everyone would be doing it. But it’s not. It's lonely, uncertain and deeply personal.
The climb hurts more for women. According to Harvard Business Review, women are more likely to receive “less competent” feedback in investor pitches and face credibility bias.
The sharpest cuts? Often emotional: imposter syndrome, rejection, juggling unpaid caregiving duties, or being the only Black woman in the boardroom—expected to represent and outperform at the same time.
Every woman of colour entrepreneur knows this: we bleed privately, pitch publicly and pour into others while rebuilding ourselves. This is not weakness. This is warriorhood.
So What Now, Sis?
Know the pain is data—not defeat. Every obstacle you face isn’t a stop sign. It’s a signal. Study it. Learn from it. Use it to build your emotional and strategic edge.
Build your resilience portfolio. Surround yourself with mentors, trauma-informed coaches and peer networks like SistaTalk. As Dr. Thema Bryant says, “You can’t heal in the same environment that made you sick.”
Own your battle scars. Don’t sanitise your story. The world needs to hear how you made it—not despite the pain, but through it. Your testimony is another woman’s survival guide.
Let’s Close with This
Entrepreneurship isn’t just about business plans or branding. It’s about healing ancestral trauma while daring to dream in systems not built for you. That’s revolutionary!
You’re not just launching a product or service —you’re breaking patterns, rewriting stories and creating economic power where none existed. That’s sacred work. That’s legacy.
So yes, the climb is painful. But remember: diamonds are formed under pressure, not praise.
🖤 Like this post if you're climbing your own ladder.
💬 Comment below with a truth about your journey—no filter needed.
🔁 Share with a sister who’s bleeding in silence but still rising.
